Injury Report: June 13: Alex Rodriguez, Paul Konerko & More

Let’s take a look at this morning’s injury news and notes:

Paul Konerko – Chicago White Sox –Toni Ginnetti of the Chicago Sun-Times (click here for the article) has a quote from Konerko saying, “It depends on the fragment,” he said. “If it moves to a different spot where it would bother me, they might have to go in. I hope it stays [where it is].” It will just have to be a situation that we continue to monitor. Right now it clearly doesn’t appear to be an issue, however. He entered play on Sunday hitting .320 with 16 HR and 51 RBI on the season.

Alex Rodriguez – New York Yankees – According to Brian Costello of the New York Post (click here for the article), “Rodriguez left the game in the ninth inning with some stiffness in the left thigh, where he got hit by a pitch in the sixth inning, but said it’s nothing to worry about.” At this point it certainly doesn’t appear to be anything to be concerned about. He played yesterday going 3-5 with 3 RBI and 1 R.

Pablo Sandoval – San Francisco Giants - According to Doug Miller of mlb.com (click here for the article), “The Giants are slated to get a big boost to their lineup, with third baseman Pablo Sandoval scheduled to return Tuesday. D-backs rookie Josh Collmenter will be waiting for him.” It will be interesting to see how the lineup shakes out with Sandoval back, but Miguel Tejada may be the odd man out (while he’s had some hits lately, he has just 1 RBI and 2 R in June). Sandoval should immediately be activated in all formats.

Allan Craig – St. Louis Cardinals – Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (click here for the article) is reporting that, “As rookie outfielder Andrew Brown, the ninth player brought up from Class AAA Memphis this season, arrived this morning, outfielder/infielder Allen Craig prepared to leave. Not only was Craig, who has a bruised, still swollen right knee, headed to the 15-day disabled list, he was preparing to go back to St. Louis to be examined on Monday.” Tough break for Craig who, with regular playing time, certainly has value as a 2B in most formats. However the Cardinals have not yet felt comfortable with him playing 2B full-time and, with Matt Holliday close to returning, the AB in the outfield may soon start to dry up. Consider stashing him in deeper formats, but that’s about it for now.

Hunter Pence – Houston Astros – Despite playing on Saturday it doesn’t appear like he is out of the woods quite yet. According to Alyson Footer (via Twitter), “Hunter Pence is off today for preventative measures. His back hurt last night when he ran. Taking a day off so it doesn’t get worse.” It appears that he is a safe play for the coming week, especially considering how hot he has been this season. Still, if you are in a daily format you will want to monitor the pregame lineup just in case.

Jason Bourgeios – Houston Astros – According to Brian McTaggart (via Twitter), “Bourgeois out with ankle sprain, Michaels takes place in lineup”. He later tweeted that, “Bourgeois getting an MRI on ankle tomorrow”. Originally it was said that he was suffering from an ankle sprain, so this is a little bit troublesome. Hopefully the results are not more severe, but look for him to be sidelined for a few days at this point.

Aaron Harang – San Diego Padres – According to Mark Thompson (via Twitter), “Anthony Bass will make his Major League debut for the #Padres on Monday in Colorado. Harand goes on DL”. Tough break for Harang, who had allowed 7 ER over his past 5 starts (33.2 innings of work). Bass, who made one start at Triple-A, was 6-3 with a 3.53 ERA and 60 K in 63.2 innings at Double-A this season. He’s only worth considering in deep NL-only formats.

Bartolo Colon – New York Yankees – Matt Fortuna and Thomas Boorstein of mlb.com (click here for the article) is reporting that, “The inevitable became reality for Bartolo Colon on Sunday morning, as the Yankees placed the right-hander on the 15-day disabled list after he suffered a strained left hamstring Saturday.” As they said, this wasn’t a big surprise after Saturday. There is no word as to who will replace Colon in the rotation, though Hector Noesi, who was recalled to replace him, is a candidate. Regardless, whoever it is will only be viable in AL-only formats.

Matt Harrison – Texas Rangers – According to Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (click here for the post), “Harrison believes that he will be able to make his next start, Saturday at Atlanta.” His start is in question because he “was struck by a line drive in the left triceps muscle”. He is a questionable fantasy option for that start anyways, so this extra bit of risk basically should take him out of consideration. Find an alternative at this point.

Mike Napoli – Texas Rangers – Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (click here for the post) is reporting that, “The Rangers will put Mike Napoli on the 15-day disabled list today with a strained oblique muscle.” Taylor Teagarden was recalled to take his spot on the roster and should share time with Yorvit Torrealba behind the plate. Napoli’s production had slowed down recently, going 3-20 over his last six games and he hadn’t homered since May 30. We all know about the power potential, however, with 10 HR in 136 AB. Keep him stashed until he’s ready to return, though he could be out a couple of weeks.

Rubby De La Rosa – Los Angeles Dodgers – According to Dylan Hernandez (via Twitter), “De La Rosa left the game with a right forearm cramp.” He had pitched fairly well prior to being forced out, allowing 3 R on 3 H and 3 BB, striking out 6, over 5.0 innings. This shouldn’t be something to be worried about and, with De La Rosa taking on the Astros in his next start, he is potentially usable in deeper formats.

Mark Reynolds – Baltimore Orioles – According to Jeff Zrebiec (via Twitter), “X-rays on mary reynolds left forearm were negative.” While it’s possible he misses a day or two, at this point the injury does not appear to be serious. He finally seems to be finding his power stroke, so hopefully we get a definitive word as to his status prior to roster deadlines. As it stands right now, he probably is worth rolling the dice on unless he have another viable 3B option.

Magglio Ordonez – Detroit Tigers – Chris Vannini and Jason Beck of mlb.com (click here for the article), “Magglio Ordonez will be activated and rejoin the Tigers roster Monday and reliever Enrique Gonzalez’s contract will be outrighted to Triple-A Toledo, Tigers president/general manager Dave Dombrowski announced Sunday.” However, there is no guarantee that Ordonez will immediately return to the lineup, so he should remain on fantasy benches for the time being.

Russell Martin – New York Yankees – He returned to the lineup, hitting eighth and going 0-4. The results are irrelevant. The fact that he was back in the lineup means that if he had value in your format he is worth using for the coming week.